Unraveling the Houdini Mystery

We love to tell stories. The act of spinning tales is a tradition throughout history. We enjoy enthralling our audience. But one type of story in particular has always held our interest. The mystery. As we can see with some of the recent fads like the DaVinci Code, we especially like to apply mysterious attributes to real historical occurrences.

This need to find patterns, and to solve mysteries is the very thing that enthralls us about magic- knowing that it can be explained, but being unable to do so. Houdini was a master of illusion and escape, but also worked tirelessly to debunk attempts by others to claim supernatural powers. It's ironic that one of Houdini's greatest critics was the creator of the master of deduction. Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous writer (and a former friend of Houdini's), was involved in the foremost group that Houdini debunked, known as "The Spiritualists"- a group that routinely held séances and claimed spiritual powers. Houdini debunked these séances repeatedly, sometimes even publicly, and eventually even offered a cash reward to anyone claiming to have supernatural powers.

The story of Houdini's death has just the right mix of intrigue and mystique- the famous magician/illusionist died on Hallows eve in 1926, from peritonitis from a ruptured appendix, after several blows to the stomach.

As the traditional story goes, Houdini had long claimed he could take blows to the stomach without damage. After a show one evening, he was challenged to take a blow, but was punched as he was rising from his chair, before he could take the proper position to absorb it. No autopsy was performed, but it has been long believed that the punches aggravated a pre-existing condition with his appendix.

Houdini's showmanship may have been his fame, but his quest to expose fraudulent claims of supernatural power may have ultimately been his undoing- he received a number of death-threats for his actions, and for many years people have believed he was murdered. Séances have been held annually on Halloween night at his grave in Machpelah cemetery. But now they have a chance to find out for sure. Even as we speak, papers are being filed to have his remains exhumed and tested by leading forensic pathologists.

William Kalush and Larry Sloman, the authors of "The Secret Life of Houdini", have posed in their book that Houdini's death was not only deliberate, but by way of poisoning- given to him earlier in his tour, causing the condition. The culprits they name, of course, are The Spiritualists. Very little evidence exists of this theory, but the idea was so convincing that Houdini's great nephew George Hardeen has sought to have Houdini's remains exhumed, and tested for traces of poison, or evidence of foul play. Hardeen and the two authors have even gotten the blessings of Anna Thurlow, descendant of the head of The Spiritualists.

But this story is not without its sub-plots. Hardeen, the grandson of Houdini's brother, is only one relative, who happens to be taking it upon himself to solve this mystery. But what about everyone else? Two descendants of Houdini's wife, Bess, have openly protested the exhumation, and accused the authors of staging a publicity stunt. Since Houdini's corpse had never undergone an autopsy, most of the evidence linking his death to poisoning (or murder of any kind, for that matter) is largely anecdotal. For instance, Houdini had been complaining of stomach pains in the week before his death, and his doctor had apparently injected him with some sort of 'experimental serum'. This conjecture might be difficult to escape, especially given that Hardeen is not the only living relative of Houndini.

The tale has gotten such world wide exposure, that Magicians around the world have speculated on the event, even going so far as to offer their own theories.

Even popular illusionist and long-time Houdini enthusiast Ron Royals is skeptical about it- "I am all for it, and while I don't personally see what the benefit would be, other than to put the relative's mind at rest, I am under the persuasion that he was murdered" For Ron, the key to the mystery is that Houdini was attacked twice, in a very short span of time. One of the individuals that pummeled his stomach was both a 'spy' (someone Houdini would send out before a show to get to know an audience), and an amateur boxer. However, this same person may have had ties with The Spiritualists- Houdini was punched the next day on the exact same place on his body.

Ron Royals, a long time Magician/Illusionist at Magic Castle in Hollywood, recreates Houdini's metamorphosis stunt as the finale of every one of his shows.

This story has all of the makings of a Dan Brown novel and more- after all, Houdini was a master of illusion. We can't help but wonder if Houdini himself orchestrated the whole affair.

And the answers to this mystery may lie 6 feet underground at Machpelah cemetery, but then again, they may not. If we were to turn this spectacle to its side, would we still see something amazing, or would we see merely what the Magician's hands are hiding?

Is a mystery, unraveled, still a mystery?
Or is it another mundane fact of history?